Flamenco Festival New York 2026 celebrates its 25th anniversary with the world’s best flamenco dancers and musicians direct from Spain, from February 25 to March 15, 2026.
With over 80 artists from 16 companies, there is flamenco for every taste from pure tradition to experimental. All the artists are among the top flamenco artists in Spain.
New York City Center is the main stage, but there are performances in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and The Bronx.
25th Flamenco Festival New York 2026
This season’s theme is the love story between New York and Flamenco, or in other words, the way flamenco artists’ experience of New York City changed the ways flamenco is performed and perceived around the world today.
Latin music and dance are traditionally not separate. If there is music, we dance. Flamenco music and dance were always performed together around the family fire in camps, kitchens, basements, and even caves ~ until Agustín Castellón Campos, known as “Sabicas,” played a solo flamenco guitar recital at The Town Hall in 1959. A flamenco guitar recital is normal now, but it happened first in New York City. This season includes a tribute to Sabicas on the same stage at The Town Hall.
That shift enabled flamenco music to stand alone and opened the doors to today’s many fusions including flamenco jazz, flamenco house, and urban flamenco. No matter how far it goes, there are always familiar rhythms and the “quejío” cry that brings the music back to its origins around the family fire.
Flamenco’s relationship with The City goes even deeper. New York has always welcomed exiles. During Spain’s long transition into modernity, many Spanish exiles found refuge in New York. New York City’s theatrical nature fostered the transition from flamenco at home or in a bar, to the world’s greatest stages; but also inspired many exiles to take New York City’s tolerance, freedom of expression, and democratic principles back to their homelands.
Flamenco Festival Lineup
Our Flamenco Festival New York 2026 coverage is sponsored by New York City Center, World Music Institute, and Robert Browning Associates.
New York City Center
Spanish Flamenco Dance
The 25th Flamenco Festival New York 2026 Gala Flamenca features Eva Yerbabuena, Manuel Liñán, El Farru, and Juan Tomás de la Molía; at New York City Center in Midtown, Manhattan; on Thursday, February 26, 2026, Saturday February 28 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, March 1 at 2pm. From $45.
This is the heart of the Flamenco Festival, a showcase of all that flamenco was, is, and is becoming. Eva Yerbabuena is “one of flamenco’s best.” The show’s Artistic Director Manuel Liñán is famous for breaking flamenco’s gender boundaries. Farru was a member of Paco de Lucia’s legendary sextet. Juan Tomás de la Molía is a rising star. What more can you ask for?
Spanish Flamenco Dance
Estévez / Paños y Compañía, the 2019 Spain National Dance Award-winning duo, perform “La Confluencia,” in which five dancers show the versatility of the male flamenco dancer in an exploration of flamenco’s roots; at New York City Center in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, February 27, 2026 at 7:30pm. From $45. 🇪🇸
Spanish Flamenco Dance
Sara Baras, the Olivier Award winner, celebrates her company’s 25th Anniversary with “Vuela,” a four-act tribute to flamenco guitar legend Paco de Lucía; at New York City Center in Midtown, Manhattan; from Thursday-Saturday, March 5-7, 2026, at 7:30pm, with a Sunday, March 8, 2026 matinee at 2pm. There is a pre-show flamenco dance lesson on Friday, March 6, 2026 at 6:30pm. From $45.
One hesitates to use the word “best,” but Sara Baras is one of the best and most influential flamenco dancers of our time.
World Music Institute @ The Town Hall
Spanish Flamenco Music
Three generations of flamenco guitarists: Gerardo Núñez, Antonio Rey, and Álvaro Martinete, perform A Tribute to Sabicas (Agustín Castellón Campos), whose 1959 recital at The Town Hall, transformed the flamenco guitar from dance accompaniment to the star of the show. Dancer Olga Pericet channels the legendary Carmen Amaya who was Sabica’s long-time artistic partner. World Music Institute is producing the tribute on the same historic stage at The Town Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 8pm. From $35. 🇪🇸
Robert Browning Associates @ Roulette Intermedium
Spanish Flamenco Music
Rising star, Latin Grammy nominee Ángeles Toledano, combines tradition and innovation in her New York City debut backed by guitarist Benito Bernal; at the Flamenco Festival for Robert Browning Associates and Lotus Music & Dance, at Roulette in Boerum Hill, in Downtown Brooklyn; on Saturday, March 7, 2026 at 8pm.
Other Venues
Spanish Flamenco Panel
The 25th Flamenco Festival New York 2026 opens with “Electric Bohemian: Flamenco and the Arts in Greenwich Village (1950s-1970s),” a discussion about how New York’s folk and flamenco scenes both blossomed in The Village’s golden age. Listen to flamenco scholar K. Meira Goldberg and cultural historian Elijah Wald; in the Skylight Room at CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown South, Manhattan; on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 5pm. Free with RSVP. gc.cuny.edu 🇪🇸
Spanish Flamenco Singer
Flamenco innovator Rocío Marquez sings “Himno Vertical,” her latest work about how the eternal cycle of life and death is influenced by those we meet on the journey, and how the duende, flamenco’s blood-spirit, is bigger than life or death. It’s in Elebash Recital Hall at the CUNY Graduate Center in Midtown South, Manhattan; on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 7pm. $35. 🇪🇸
Kíko ~ I had a slow death last year that culminated in a December surgery. Right after, the most beautiful angel came for me. I followed the light, but the gatekeepers turned me away. With nowhere to go, I came back. I guess I have more work to do. Writing this, I realize that flamenco is bringing me back to life. So I can confirm that Rocío knows of what she sings. Without the duende, we are nothing. In the duende, everything.
Spanish Flamenco Talk and Performance
José Javier León talks about “La Argentinita,” the iconic flamenco singer and dancer Encarnación López Júlez, followed by a performance by Festival artists; at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in Lincoln Center, Manhattan; on Saturday, February 28, 2026 at 2pm. FREE with rsvp. eventbrite.com
La Argentinita’s experience in 1930s-1940s New York City made her a key bridge between traditional flamenco at home or in a bar, and the stage forms we know today. She is also known for her collaboration with beloved Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, who was also deeply affected by his time in New York. Once visitors taste The City’s freedom many try to bring it back home. They don’t always succeed, but some become immortal.